Good leadership isn’t only about what we learn to do. Sometimes it’s about what we learn to stop doing.

In this solo episode, Nathan shares five habits good leaders should leave behind: making leadership about themselves, solving every problem, leading from a distance, reacting too quickly, and correcting more than they encourage.

Drawing from The Mentor Leader and lessons from Tony Dungy, Chris Archer, a federal judge Nathan clerked for, and his own experiences, Nathan explores how leaders can create more room for growth, connection, perspective, and encouragement.

A short, practical episode built around one question: What might you need to stop doing to become a better leader?

About Nathan Whitaker

Nathan Whitaker is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, former NFL executive, Super Bowl champion, leadership speaker, and executive coach.

Learn more:

https://www.nathanwhitaker.com

Subscribe for new episodes of Uncommon Impact every Thursday.

Uncommon Impact explores the people, experiences, and principles that shape extraordinary leaders and teams.

More episodes of Uncommon Impact:
https://nathanwhitaker.com/podcast/

Kris Carter’s career has rarely followed a straight line.

Since graduating from Harvard Law School, he has worked in law, technology, music, microfinance, entrepreneurship, manufacturing in Africa, and venture capital. But behind those career pivots is a deeper story about identity, faith, risk, failure, and learning to follow the next call even when you aren’t sure where it will lead.

Kris shares what difficult leaders taught him about the importance of being “the leader of your own soul,” how he learned not to let a job or boss determine his self-worth, and how his renewed faith changed the way he viewed his work.

We also talk about his years working with microfinance institutions in Africa, his decision to move from lending to creating jobs, and the remarkable story of building Gulu Made with women in northern Uganda—and later helping build another manufacturing operation in Ethiopia.

Kris is also unusually candid about depression, financial uncertainty, comparison, and the persistent voice telling him he hadn’t accomplished enough.

We finish with an unexpected question for a podcast called Uncommon Impact: What if impact isn’t something we should chase at all?

It’s a conversation about calling, gratitude, risk, significance, and learning to be fully present for the life directly in front of you.

How do you lead people through change without losing them along the way?

Jim McKenzie spent 24 years in education, including more than two decades in leadership, before stepping away from a job he loved without knowing exactly what would come next.

Today, he serves schools and leaders as a consultant, speaker, author, and entrepreneur.

Jim joins Nathan to talk about leading people through significant change, why leaders must provide clarity as well as character, and how an imaginative vision can help people see possibilities beyond “the way we’ve always done it.”

They also discuss Jim’s transition into meaningful work beyond one organization, applying the principles of Unreasonable Hospitality to education, the growing value of human connection, and his belief that one of leadership’s greatest responsibilities is to inspire hope.

A conversation about change, clarity, purpose, connection—and creating a better vision of what could be.

Topics include:
• Leading organizational change
• Why clarity matters as much as character
• Creating an imaginative vision
• Helping people navigate change
• Knowing when to say no
• Meaningful work and vocational purpose
• Unreasonable Hospitality in education
• Creating meaningful human connection
• Why leaders need to inspire hope

For more on Jim and his book, check out:

http://www.jcmckenzie.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmckenziewrites/

One Generation to the Next: https://a.co/d/078fyOld

Subscribe to Uncommon Impact for conversations about leadership, culture, purpose, resilience, and making a meaningful difference in the lives of others.

About Nathan Whitaker

Nathan Whitaker is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, former NFL executive, Super Bowl champion, leadership speaker, and executive coach.

Learn more:

https://www.nathanwhitaker.com

Subscribe for new episodes of Uncommon Impact every Thursday.

Uncommon Impact explores the people, experiences, and principles that shape extraordinary leaders and teams.

More episodes of Uncommon Impact:
https://nathanwhitaker.com/podcast/